Kitarō (鬼太郎, Kitarō), also known as GeGeGe no Kitarō (ゲゲゲの鬼太郎) is a yōkai boy born in a cemetery after the death of his parents. Aside from his mostly-decayed father, Medama-Oyaji, he is the last living member of the Ghost Tribe (幽霊族 yūrei zoku). He fights for peace between humans and youkai, which generally involves protecting the former from the wiles of the latter.

His name comes from a pre-war era picture story show entitled Hakaba Kitarō (墓場奇太郎, Graveyard Kitarō), featuring a character with a similar backstory. Shigeru Mizuki gives credit to author Masami Itou for inspiring the character of Kitarō.

Appearance

Kitarō looks like a young boy. He has long brown hair which covers his left eye, and he wears a black and yellow striped vest (see Chanchanko) over an old-fashioned school uniform. He also wears Japanese style wooden sandals, called geta. His hair is light gray in the original manga, but from the 2nd anime on it is brown.

He is missing his left eye. The origin behind this varies depending on the story. In Hakaba Kitarō, it is explained that when he emerged from the graveyard, a terrified Mizuki threw him away and ran, and the infant Kitarō hit his eye against the edge of a grave stone.

more to come

Personality

In the rental manga, he is portrayed as a kind hearted boy who can't ignore the plights of people or youkai. He even forgives Shuichi Yamada for transforming him into the Dai Kaijuu. However, in the story Umibouzu-sensei he claims he cannot be swayed by justice and love (although this was said in retaliation to Nezumi-Otoko's pleading). He is usually depicted as having adult-like composure, but he actually has a fairly strong sense of justice and can be very excitable at times. He dislikes anyone who commits or aides in bad deeds, and has even punished humans on occasion. However, in the earlier chapters his compassion was very weak, and is depicted leading a creepy life tricking humans into misfortune. He also has a soft spot for both human and youkai girls, and sometimes gets tricked by them. This aspect of his personality was also depicted in the 3rd and 5th anime as well as the live action movies. Over the course of the anime series, his personality has changed slightly.

History

Kitarō's mother, Iwako died while she was still pregnant with him, and she and his father were buried by the blood banker Mizuki. But three days later, Kitarō crawls out of her womb and the grave by his own power. His birth story is usually not depicted in the anime series, with the exceptions of the 3rd (Ep. 114), 4th (Ep. 78), and Hakaba Kitarō anime (Ep. 1).

After his birth he is taken in by Mizuki, but Kitarō treats him coldly and runs away at age 6, leaving on an aimless journey with his reanimated father (see Medama-Oyaji), eventually settling with a peaceful life in GeGeGe Forest. As a child, he attended Yōkai Elementary with Neko-Musume. According to Nezumi-Otoko, Kitarō attended the Yōkai Study Hall with him. In the live-action movies he is said to have attended a semester at Under the Grave Middle School.

Day to Day Life

He usually lives together with Medama-Oyaji in a tree house commonly referred to as the GeGeGe House, although in the manga chapter Shinigami he lives in Sunakake-Babaa's Yōkai Apartments. Because he owns various Human World goods it seems he has money, but this is never made clear. He essentially lives a poor life, and in the original manga he is seen rummaging through garbage cans. In the serialized mangas and the animes, he doesn't usually receive a reward whenever he solves incidents, at most he will receive free food and bedding whenever he stays with someone. Some clients will offer him a large monetary reward, but he usually recommends they put that money towards hospital bills or, if such is the case, offerings to the yōkai they disturbed.

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Abilities

Kitarō has an assortment of strange powers at his disposal, including:

Hair

Yōkai Antenna: A hair which can serve as an antenna for detecting spirit activity

Hair Needles: Spiny hairs which can be shot like arrows

Hair Spear

Hair Sword: Longer locks of his hair can be used as a spear or sword

Hair Net/Hair Rope

Hair Radio

Remote Controlled Hair

Nose Hair Missle

Electric Powers

The power of electrocution, usually employed when an enemy has pinned or restrained him and he can no longer kick or use other weapons

Regenerative Powers

Remote Controlled Hand: A detachable hand, also remote-controlled

Kitarō Pierce

Finger Guns

Teeth Machinegun

Digestive Fluids

Gastric Juice

Balloon

Other abilities

Fire Burst

Chameleon Technique

Chameleon Tongue

Shedding

Binding Apparatus

Gas

Yōkai Radiation

Ear Phone

Weapons

Main weaopns

Chanchanko: A magic chanchanko vest which can protect its wearer from danger; it occasionally seems to act of its own accord, wrapping around enemies or aiding friends, even when Kitarō is not available to command it.

Gallery

Trivia

Gegege no Kitarō is the mascot for the Gainare Tottori soccer club. Additionally, J.League Division 1 team F.C. Tokyo also holds "Gegege no Kitarō Day" every season.

In Episode 6 of the Japanese dramaHana-Kimi, the protagonist Ashiya Mizuki (Horikita Maki) is quoted as saying that Izumi Sano (Oguri Shun) looks like "Kitarō", due to the way Sano's hair is styled. Sano then said that Mizuki must be "Medama Oyaji", since Mizuki always has 'his' eye on Sano. Also, in Episode 7, Noe greets the assembled couples on their way to the roof of the school on the evening of the delayed star festival (August 7) dressed as Kitarō and holding a figure of Medama Oyaji bathing in a rice bowl.

In the last chapter of the manga, Ikujinashi Shiawase (Happiness of a Cowardly Boy) by Naono Bohra, character Kawada is embarrassed to look at the face of his lover, Mori, after Mori gets a haircut. Kawada complains that with his new haircut, Mori's handsome face is "too exposed" and attracts too much attention from other people. He states that Kawada used to have hair like "GeGeGe Kitarō", and he preferred it that way since his face was half-hidden most of the time.

Japanese musician Miyavi has also described his hairstyle as a Kitarōu-cut many times (i.e.: official profile, diary, etc...).

Shigeru Mizuki has issued a series of limited-edition woodblock prints entitled "Fifty-Three Stations of the Yokaido Road", re-interpreting the famous Hiroshige series "Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido Road" as "a haunted journey". Printed from Mizuki's original paintings, the "Yokaido Road" prints star Kitarō and his troupe, as well as many other yokai and weird creatures of folklore. Produced through the Japanese publisher Yanoman Corporation, in March 2008 the series went on display in the Information and Culture Center of the Japanese Embassy in Washington DC.

In the Kamen Rider Den-O OVA spin off, Imagin Anime, Ryutaros refers to the show. When the other Tarōs attempt to sing the first part of the series' main theme, Deneb stopped them from getting sued from the mere mention of it by name.

In The Great Yokai War, after Tadashi first realizes Sunekosuri is a Youkai, goes out to look at the yokai models, statues of Kitarō and Konaki-Jijii are shown. Later, after a Youkai meeting ends up with their supposed help deciding to aid them, Kawataro the Kappa and Ittan-momen to a pillar while chiding "You're always real brave with Kitarō in those comics!" Kitarō's creator Shigeru Mizuki also appears in a cameo role in the film near the end.

Main Mushishi character Ginko bears uncanny similarities to Kitarō. Both have similar hairstyles, pale complexions and a missing left eye (this occurs to Ginko in Episode two). The only differences occurring are eye color and hair color. It should also be noted that both series deal with supernatural occurrences.